Blueberry muffin rice krispies..whaaaaat?!

Yup. That's right. Super delicious and super easy. I have a lot of friends that claim not to know how to cook or bake. I don't understand how, but either way, I promised an easy dessert recipe for all those who are...umm..domestically challenged lets just say. ;) Here it is..


-6 cups rice krispies cereal
-5 cups or 1 large bag of regular white marshmallows. (Miniature or whatever, doesn't matter)
-4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or imitation vanilla extract
-1 box dry blueberry muffin mix. (I used Jiffy)

Measure rice krispies in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Grease cake pan with cooking spray.

Melt butter over med to medium low heat.Once melted, add marshmallows.

Stir continuously until a nice fluffy consustancy. *very important to keep stirring or it will burn.*

Remove from heat and immediately stir in
 dry muffin mix.

Add mixture to cereal and stir until combined evenly.

Spread in prepared cake pan and  press out evenly. (*tip, you may want to spray your hands with cooking spray before handling since it is super sticky.)

Allow to harden, approx 2 hours.
I also melted cream cheese and mixed powdered sugar to spread on top. Tasted like cheesecake. So, omg, you just kinda made muffins, cheesecake and rice krispies.

Now your list of culinary abilities no longer consists of just Ramen and toast. Go you!!

Voila!
#domesticateyoself

Reuben Meatloaf

You asked- here it is. Finally. Sorry everyone for not posting in forever. Busy busy busy. I have actually been working with my sisters on our new business venture. Exciting! Stay tuned for details!

1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles
1 half large yellow or white onion, chopped finely
1 large carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (you can use whatever oil you have on hand if you don't have olive)
1 cup sauerkraut, drained and squeezed to almost dry
1/2 cup diced reduced- fat Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons ketchup, divided
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs( you can use rye if you have it but I didn't have any and I like to keep it healthier)
1 lb ground sirloin or leanest ground beef you can find.
Also, if you are using ground turkey or chicken, make sure it is a lb and a half.
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon low-fat mayonnaise

Preheat your oven 375
Place onion and carrot in a food processor until finely chopped.
Saute mixture in oil until onion is translucent.
Add sauerkraut, Saute another few minutes.
Add half of ketchup.
Transfer to mixing bowl.
**make sure to allow mixture to cool.(approx 10-15 min) Very important or consistency will be all messed up!!
Now, add chopped cheese, meat, salt, then egg, and finally the breadcrumbs.
Press into a lightly greased loaf pan.
In a seperate bowl, mix remaining ketchup, and mayo.
Spread over uncooked loaf and sprinkle with pickles.
Bake 45 mins.
Enjoy!!!


There you have it! This also makes some amazing sandwiches for lunch the next day..IF you have leftovers. Also feel free to double the recipe. This freezes well!!

Vanilla Cupcake Puppychow

I am a *huge* sugar addict. Anything sweet, I'm there! When my sugar cravings hit, I usually like to find a way to lighten things up to make it a bit healthier, while satisfying my sweet tooth and keeping it super decadent.

So, recently, I have been on a cupcake kick. I love them, but obviously they are not the healthiest. I thought about how I could lighten them up but without ruining the flavor. I then decided to go more 'out of the box' with thinking. I thought not about lightening up cupcakes, but what I could turn into cupcakes...

I came up with an amazing alternative...

First, we need to grab our ingredients: Rice chex cereal(do not use crispix or any other type of Chex or it will not taste the same or work very well), Heavy Cream, Butter, Butter imitation extract, almond extract, white chocolate almond bark, powdered sugar and sprinkles :)

 

 Pour 4 1/2 Cups of Chex in a bowl, set aside.
Place 10 oz of almond bark in saucepan with heavy whipping cream(no substitutions) and butter. Melt over low heat and make sure to keep stirring or it will get chunky and you will need to start over.

 

 
Once mixture is fully melts, remove from heat and add both the butter extract and almond extract.
Pour mixture over cereal, shake to coat.
I used a plastic Tupperware tub with a lid so it was evenly coated. Allow to cool for just about a minute, then add your sprinkles. Be sure not to add sprinkles too quick or they will melt.
Once cooled a bit, but not fully dry, pour 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar over mixture and shake again to coat.

I'm sorry for the 20 lbs you are about to gain because you will not be able to put this stuff down.
BUT--just to make you feel better, 1 cup of this has over 50% less fat, calories and sugar than a typical small vanilla cupcake. It also has vitamins and minerals from the cereal. So don't feel *SO* bad..:D

RECIPE

4 1/2 cups Rice Chex
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp butter imitation extract
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
10 oz(about 5 squares) of white chocolate almond bark
sprinkles

-Pour cereal in bowl, set aside
- Melt almond bark, butter and heavy cream over low heat, stirring frequently
- Once fully melted, add almond extract and butter extract
- Pour over cereal mixture, shake to coat
- Add sprinkles after letting it cool approx 1 minute
- Add powdered sugar, shake again to coat

Garden Salmon Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Everyone loves this salad! A great amount of protein and iron, a blast of vitamin C and some Calcium too. 

Recipe:

1 thawed Salmon filet
Raw Spinach
2 tablespoons fat-free feta cheese
2 sliced ripe strawberries
A handful of almonds
Mrs Dash original seasoning
Fat Free poppyseed dressing
Cooking

Directions:
Start by seasoning salmon with a Mrs Dash. Place under broiler in oven for approximately 8 minutes skin side down. After 8 minutes, flip so skin side is up. Broil another 3-4 minutes.
While salmon broils, assemble spinach, strawberries and feta cheese on a large plate.
Once salmon is finished, remove from oven and allow to cool about 10 minutes. Once cooled, slice up and toss on top of salad, sprinkle with feta cheese, almonds and a drizzle of dressing.
Also try with Mandarin oranges.
I served mine with rice on the side. The salad itself comes in at only 345 calories!